The Go-Between

Performances (Interactive)

I was selected by Thom Collins (former Director of the Neuberger Museum, current Director of the Miami Art Museum) to present a performance piece at The Dorsky Museum of Art in New Paltz, NY. I went to the museum twice a month for a period of six months to present “The Go-Between.”

Believing that the world would be a better place if more people got to know one another, I decided to facilitate interaction between strangers. Therefore, I explained to the museum visitors that I would be happy to carry a message to any other person in the space of the gallery. (It was always my hope that the strangers would eventually communicate without my intervention!) Most of the people who took advantage of my services sent a message to someone they already knew, and some of these message were very touching. For example, one man pointed to his wife and said, “Tell her that she is still the most important thing in the world to me — even after twenty-five years of marriage.” Other messages were more mundane: “Please tell my mother that I am hungry and want to leave this place.”

Ultimately, I think my project served as a reminder of the importance of interpersonal communication.